PRESS RELEASE*

The following issues are scheduled for discussion at the November 29, 2011Government Presidium meeting:  

1. Determining the salaries of service personnel under contract

This draft resolution has been submitted by the Ministry of Defence. Federal law No. 306-FZ of November 7, 2011 establishes a new schedule for service personnel salaries and envisages its phased introduction starting on January 1, 2012 for service personnel of the Armed Forces and the forces of the Ministry of the Interior, and from January 1, 2013 for service personnel in other military units and agencies.  

This draft resolution envisages the fixing of salaries for standard military positions and the salaries for military rank for service personnel under contract, and sets for the heads of the relevant ministries and agencies the deadlines for determining the salaries for non-standard military positions (before January 1, 2012) as well as the procedure for the use of these salaries in the process of revising pensions.

This draft resolution does not envisage invalidation of the regulatory legal acts that establish the salaries under the current system of remuneration. The necessary amendments to these acts will be introduced after the conclusion of the work to implement federal laws No. 306-FZ of November 7 2011 and No. 309-FZ of November 8, 2011 because the latter will be in force until 2013 with respect to service personnel for whom the new salary system is to be introduced at the second stage.  

2. Monthly addition to the salary for security agency personnel serving under special conditions  

This draft resolution has been submitted by the Ministry of the Interior Federal law No. 247-FZ of July 19, 2011 establishes a new schedule for salaries for the personnel of the Interior Affairs bodies that include an addition to the basic salary for special conditions of service.

This draft resolution would approve a list of special duty conditions of service and the maximum increase in salaries corresponding to these duty conditions. Only those service personnel are entitled to an increase whose conditions of service and character of duties performed correspond to the established list of special duty conditions. The Minister of the Interior is charged with establishing the list of positions and the respective increases for these positions.

This draft resolution will not invalidate the regulatory legal acts that establish increases for special duty conditions of service for certain categories of personnel under the current system of remuneration. The necessary amendments to these acts will be introduced upon the completion of the work to implement federal law No. 247-FZ of July 19, 2011 because they will remain in force until 2013 with regard to service personnel for whom the new remuneration system is introduced at the second stage.    

3. Bonus payments for service personnel for the diligent and effective performance of their duties and of annual allowances

This draft resolution has been submitted by the Foreign Intelligence Service.

This federal law on the salaries of service personnel and on granting stand-alone allowances establishes a new structure of remuneration for service personnel to be introduced in several phases:  

● As of January 1, 2012 for service personnel of the Armed Forces and the Interior Troops of the Ministry of the Interior;

● As of January 1, 2013 for service personnel with other troops, military units and agencies.

This draft resolution will establish the criteria for paying bonuses for diligent and effective performance of duties and annual allowances in accordance with the powers of the Government under parts 21 and 22 of Article 2 of the federal law referred to above. These rules are to be introduced in several phases corresponding to the phases of the reform of the remuneration system.

This draft resolution does not invalidate the similar regulatory legal acts now regulating the system of remuneration because they will remain in force until 2013 for service personnel for whom the new system is to be introduced at the second stage. To rule out legal discrepancies in connection with two acts on the same issue being simultaneously in force, the normative legal acts establishing a new remuneration system have a mandatory reference to the grounds on which they had been passed, i.e. the Federal Law On Salaries of Service Personnel and on Stand-Alone Payments to Them.

4. Draft federal law On Introducing Amendments to the Law of the Russian Federation On Pensions of Persons Who Have Served in the Military, in the Internal Security Bodies, the State Fire Service, the Agencies for Control of Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, Institutions and Agencies of the Penal Enforcement System and Their Families

This draft federal law has been submitted by the Ministry of Defence.  

The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation has declared unconstitutional the provisions of Article 56 of the Law of the Russian Federation On Pensions for Persons Who Have Served in the Military, in the Internal Security Bodies, the State Fire Service, the Agencies for Control of Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, Institutions and Agencies of the Penal Enforcement System and Their Families inasmuch as it establishes that only the documents issued by registration agencies can be grounds for determining and confirming the place of residence or temporary location of a pensioner for the purpose of payment of pensions. The federal legislative body has been charged with introducing the relevant amendments to the Law.

This draft law, prepared pursuant to that instruction, eliminates the above discrepancy between the provisions of the law and the Constitution of the Russian Federation: in the event a military pensioner relocates, the pension may be paid and delivered to him in the absence of registration in the new place of residence (sojourn) on the basis of a personal application that states the actual place of residence within the territory of the Russian Federation. Thereby the pension rights of military pensioners are expanded.

5. Draft federal law On Plant Quarantine  

This draft federal law has been submitted by the Ministry of Agriculture.  

This draft law is aimed at improving legal regulation in ensuring plant quarantine, optimising the functions and procedures connected with plant quarantine and quarantine phytosanitary control when bringing into the country’s territory products subject to quarantine as well as optimising the procedures connected with the compliance of the Russian Federation with its international obligations to ensure a safe phytosanitary condition of the products subject to quarantine in the process of export.

The aims of adopting this draft law are as follows:

● To align the legislation of the Russian Federation concerning plant quarantine with the international legal norms (International Convention on Quarantine and Protection of Plants, the Customs Union Agreement on Plant Quarantine of December 11, 2009);

● To align legislation with the system and organisation of executive federal bodies in the Russian Federation;

● To vest physical and legal persons with the right to render services in decontaminating products and objects subject to quarantine and to carry out laboratory tests in the field of plant quarantine.

This draft law would vest the authorised federal executive bodies with the functions of adopting quarantine phytosanitary requirements to products subject to quarantine, the import of products subject to quarantine into the Russian Federation, the export of products subject to quarantine from the Russian Federation, the use of objects subject to quarantine, work to decontaminate products and objects subject to quarantine, and conducting laboratory tests of products subject to quarantine. In addition the authorised federal executive body (its territorial branch) is authorised, in accordance with the draft law, to introduce (lift) the quarantine phytosanitary regime.

This draft law envisages quarantine phytosanitary control during the import of products subject to quarantine into the Russian Federation on the basis of phytosanitary risk management with due account of the level of trust in the system of certification of quarantined products of the exporting country.

The draft law also makes it binding on legal and physical persons to pass accreditation before being granted the right to engage in the activities of decontamination of quarantine products, of conducting laboratory tests in the field of plant quarantine.

6. Distribution of subsidies to the budgets of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in support of measures to balance the budgets of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in 2011

This draft executive order has been introduced by the Ministry of Finance.  

This  Budgetary Message from the President of the Russian Federation to the Federal Assembly of June 29, 2011 determined the practicability of providing additional incentives for the activities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation aimed at building up the regional tax potential. It proposes more active use of the mechanism of financial incentives for the regions that have achieved the best results in developing entrepreneurship, attracting investments, and, accordingly, have increased the revenues of the budgets at all levels.

For the first time the federal budget for 2011 allocates resources for that purpose in the amount of 10 billion roubles in the shape of subsidies in support of measures to balance the budgets of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation.

For the purpose of providing subsidies the Ministry of Finance, by agreement with the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Regional Development, has selected 20 constituent entities of the Russian Federation that have achieved the best results in increasing the regional tax potential. The (best) results were determined on the basis of a comprehensive evaluation calculated proceeding from the achieved level and dynamics of indicators in the sphere of investments, taxation and industrial production.

After the distribution of the said resources in the amount of 10 billion roubles among the budgets of 20 constituent entities of the Russian Federation, the remainder of the money made available in support of balancing the budgets of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation will amount to 6.1 billion roubles.

7. Signing a Treaty between the Russian Federation and the Czech Republic on Social Security   

This draft Treaty has been submitted by the Ministry of Healthcare and Social Development.

This draft treaty applies to persons who are citizens of the Russian Federation and the Czech Republic residing on the territories of the contracting Parties as well as members of the families of the persons who were covered or are covered by the legislations of the parties.

This treaty will apply to illness and maternity benefits which include temporary disability allowances, lump-sum payments to women registered with medical institutions at an early stage of pregnancy, maternity allowance, a lump-sum payment upon the birth of a child, a monthly child-care allowance paid to persons subject to mandatory social insurance and funeral allowances; labour old-age pensions (including for early retirees), disability pensions, pensions due to loss of primary earner; payments to an insured person in the event of an occupational accident or disease or to members of the family in the event of the insured person’s death for the above reasons.

Allowances for families with children will be paid in accordance with the laws of that contracting party on whose territory the children live.

The temporary disability, maternity allowances and funeral allowances will be paid to insured citizens of one party engaged in activities on the territory of the other party according to the laws of the state on whose territory the insured person was engaged in labour activities.

Pensions will be granted with due account of the insurance (labour) seniority on the territories of the Russian Federation and the Czech Republic except when the periods of service coincide in time. Each party will calculate the size of the pension corresponding to the insured (labour) seniority acquired on its territory in accordance with the provisions of its laws.

Payments of allowances in case of occupational accidents or diseases will be made by the parties on whose territory the person worked at the time of the insured occurrence.

No provision is made for a revision of pensions and allowances established prior to the effective date of this treaty.

8. Signing an agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Republic of Poland on Local Movement in the Border Areas

This draft executive order has been submitted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Based on the results of preliminary consultations with the Polish government, a draft intergovernmental agreement has been developed which would ensure a most favoured nation status for mutual trips of the residents of border areas between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Poland.

The essential provision of the agreement concerns mutual trips by citizens of border areas of the two countries on the basis of a valid travel document (with the exception of a diplomatic or service passport as well as a Navy service person’s passport) and a permit for local trans-border movement issued under a simplified procedure by the consular bodies of the two countries.

The draft agreement would extend local border movement to the entire Kaliningrad Region and partially to the Pomeranian and Warmian-Masurian voivodships of the Republic of Poland.

This draft executive order instructs the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, once a corresponding agreement is reached with the Polish side, to sign the Agreement referred to above on behalf of the Government of the Russian Federation.

Moscow, November 28, 2011

* Press releases by the Department of Press Service and Information are based on the materials submitted by the executive federal bodies for discussion by the Government Presidium meeting